Steve Spurrier's swagger was not quite so pronounced when he arrived Tuesday at Williams-Brice Stadium to be introduced as the new football coach at the University of South Carolina. His words came without the same cocky self-assurance he displayed in 12 seasons as coach at Florida.
He is different now, Spurrier admits. Two losing seasons with the Washington Redskins, in 2002 and 2003, can change a man.
It humbled Spurrier.
"I think one thing I learned, I learned a lot more humility," Spurrier said during a news conference to announce he would replace retiring Lou Holtz. "Maybe I was a little arrogant, maybe I ran my mouth more than I should.
"Human nature sometimes causes you to maybe feel like you have more answers than you really do when you've got a real good team. So hopefully I've learned some humility and greater respect for all coaches."
If this is the new Spurrier, eager South Carolina fans will take him. He signed a seven-year contract with a guaranteed payout of US$1.25 million a year with incentives that could add as much as US$900,000 each year, a deal that Spurrier negotiated to be lower so that his assistant coaches would be paid more.
There was a celebratory feel to the news conference, with Spurrier receiving a loud and long ovation when he stepped to the podium. They are hungry here in this Southeastern Conference school that has always been overshadowed by national powers such as Georgia, Tennessee and, of course, the Florida machine run by Spurrier from 1990 through 2001.
They thought that Lou Holtz, the former Notre Dame coach who was hired in December 1998, would lift South Carolina to legitimacy in the SEC. And Holtz was partly successful, leading the Gamecocks to bowl games in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Remember, this is a university that has gone to a total of 11 bowl games in 60 years. The Gamecocks had qualified for a bowl this season as well, although they will not play as self-imposed punishment for a brawl that occurred during a game with Clemson on Saturday.
That was the last game for Holtz, 67, who announced his retirement Monday.
Holtz made South Carolina respectable, but he did not deliver the titles it craved. The Gamecocks have not won a championship since taking the Atlantic Coast Conference title in 1969, although they were an independent from 1971-1991 before joining the SEC. Spurrier, 59, is the hope now. He arrives with a 142-40-2 record in 15 years as a college coach, including a 122-27-1 record at Florida as well as a national championship in 1996 and six SEC titles. That record was well noted by Athletic Director Mike McGee when he introduced Spurrier. His time in Washington was not mentioned.
Perhaps that is best. Asked what he missed most about the college game, Spurrier's response was revealing.
"If I answer that question, then I start criticizing the NFL," he said. "I'm going to try my best not to say anything bad about the NFL or those players or whatever, and I am not angry at anybody. Just say it didn't work out. I'll take all the blame for the losing seasons and leave it at that."
Spurrier lost more than games (12-20) when he was in Washington. He lost the swagger.
"It's not easy to lose," said his wife, Jerri. "It's just not easy to lose."
Spurrier did not coach this season, but there was much speculation he would take the Florida job when Ron Zook was fired on Oct. 25.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS